Review: How Jesus Transforms The Ten Commandments

How Jesus Transforms The Ten Commandments by Edmund P. Clowney
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It almost seems to me that there are two authors of this book, which does not always work to produce a seamless smooth-flowing train of thoughts. There are segments that are classic Dr Clowney - sometimes his exposition stares down your soul with a reality check of how far we are to God's way,   sometimes his words of encouragement inspire us to keep journeying on in our Christian faith, and other times he summaries with crystal clear clarity to shed light on otherwise complicated theological positions.

Not to say that Dr Clowney's daughter is a poor writer/editor, but as revealed in the forward circumstances, Dr Clowney was battling illness and before signing the book's contract, he "left us to worship his beloved Christ in heaven..." (page vi). I wonder what a professional editor could have done to make this book a more coherent read, and also ponder how a like-minded theologian of Clowney's calibre (which aren't many) could have provided better illustrations and clarity of explanation.

While this title is not of the same quality as Dr Clowney's other titles, it is nevertheless a resource that scholars and pastors could use as a starting point when studying the topic of whether the Mosaic Law is obsolete today. For readers who have yet to read any of his books, do not be put off from doing so! You can start with Called to Ministry - I am sure you will find that it provided an enjoyable, inspiring read!

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Clowney on how Jesus transforms "You shall not steal"

We would have stopped short if we only mention that Jesus transforms "You shall not steal" by giving himself as our treasure. That would be a rather self-centered sermon. We have to also remember that instead of being judged and punished, we now have the privilege of being in his service. For we belong to God, his treasured possession, as we are refined by the trials and testings in this life.

I dont know about you guys, but as a young Singapore who will soon have to deal with the pressures of wedding bills and home mortgage, it takes a supernatural awakening of my spirit to be generous. Every fibre of my being wants to be debt-free and that would mean cutting back on blessing others. Yet once again I am reminded to fix my eyes and my heart on life beyond earth, that the money I supposedly earn is but under my stewardship. What better way to spend it than for the glory of his kingdom, not on my own interests but that of others whom Christ loves just as much as I.



From pages 99-102 and 120-121 of: How Jesus Transforms The Ten Commandments

"Our inheritance is more than the blessings of glory, more than the new heavens and earth. It is the Lord, who gives himself to us, that we may be one with him. Yes, Jesus Christ does all this in transforming the commandment of property rights, "You shall not steal." He gives himself as our treasure...

Jesus, the Good Shepherd, knew that he could keep those whom the Father had given him. "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand." He added, "No one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one" (John 10:27-30). No one can steal the inheritance of the divine Shepherd. As we are the inheritance, the property of the Lord, so, too, we possess our inheritance in Christ. We belong to Jesus; he belongs to us...


In the power of Christ and his love we can learn not only to refrain from stealing what belongs to others, but to multiply our treasure by clinging to Christ alone. Out of the bounty of that miraculous multiplication of our gifts and treasure, we can amply supply those whom Christ places in our path. Let us shower on those around us the treasure God has given us, not counting the cost, but looking to that treasure that is laid up in heaven for us, namely, Christ himself."

Clowney on how Christ transforms Israel's need for table separation

The term "Christian" is overrated. So many people calls themselves Christians and yet some I feel are some of the most horrible people I have ever come across. I do not know what to make out of that. I have no desire to love these enemies. No way do I regard them to be my "brother!" Perhaps if we are all being persecuted, there would be weeding out of the "nominal" followers. And yet I reflect on this attitude of mine and recognise that my heart desires to disobey a direct command of Scripture.

I thus gain a better appreciation of what it was like for the Jews in the early church to warm up to and come to accept the Gentiles. It really was not an easy thing to do! Perhaps the only manner it could have been done was by the empowering of the Spirit (interacting with their free wills). O Lord, I recognise the hate and disdain in my heart for certain groups of people. I admit that I do not want to love them or show them mercy, but help me confirm my heart to become more like yours. Let the change be less out of fear of judgment day, and more of a willingness to please you and bring joy to your heart. Amen.


From page 87 of: How Jesus Transforms The Ten Commandments

The physical distinctiveness of Israel no longer marks the new Israel. For that reason the kosher diet no longer applies, and the separation of Israel from table fellowship with Gentiles is ended. The mark of the new Israel is love toward God and toward the people we meet—and the people we would rather not meet. This love, as we have seen, is the infinitely deepened love that Jesus showed to his Father and to us. The love of Christ draws and drives us to talk to people, to surprise others by seeing what they need.

Clowney on Jesus' transformation of the Sabbath to bring rest to others

Jesus' disciples and the early church did not observe Sabbath in sleep and slumber. Taking heed of Jesus' transformation of the commandment into a commission, their zeal for Yahweh was exhibited in their endeavors to bring an early rest to others. Evangelism was not separated from social ministry. How many of us believers today are compelled by the gospel to move from consuming to sowing? It is indeed a difficult response if we have allowed work and ministry (to fellow-believers) to wear us thin. O Lord forgive us of our idlesness, send us spiritual mentors to model for us what it means to have compassion for others, because we are clueless in moving beyond our self-centered lifestyles.

From pages 63-64 of: How Jesus Transforms The Ten Commandments

Jesus' disciples spent the very first "first day of the week" together, rejoicing in the resurrection of the Lord. On that first resurrection Sunday the disciples seemed hesitant to announce Christ's triumph to the outside world, so stunned and amazed were they. Later, however, they used the first day of the week to announce the good news of the gospel and to exercise acts of mercy and compassion, as Jesus had taught them to do by his own observance of the Sabbath. In our Christian worship, we come together as a gathered body of Christ to honor him, to remind ourselves and the world that we belong to him, and to announce the resurrection of the Lord of the Sabbath, who offers true rest to those who receive him. As we call one day "the Lord's," we must be careful to show the love of Christ in New Covenant service to others, as well as coming together for worship, rest, and refreshment.

The Sabbath cannot sanction idleness. The Lord's covenant does not call us to spend the first day of the week uniquely on Sunday-afternoon naps. Though physical rest is surely a part of the first-day observance, the Lord's Day is also a day of activity, to be celebrated by fulfilling the commission that the Lord has given us. The promise of rest is transformed by the fact that the seventh-day observance becomes a first day observance. The celebration on the seventh day has been transformed by Jesus' resurrection. Christ's victory over the powers of darkness in his resurrection glory accounts for the shift in the New Testament from the seventh day of the week to the first day of the week.

To follow Jesus on the first day of the week is not only to keep the first day as the Old Covenant people of God were required to keep the seventh day. It is to consider the first day as united to Jesus Christ, our Savior, and to look for opportunities to show devotion to him in activity that we know pleases him in the work of the kingdom. Christians have, through the centuries, used the first day of the week in caring for the sick and the poor, the oppressed and afflicted, and those whom we may reach with the message and the healing comfort of the gospel. In particular, those who are elders of Christ's church or deacons ministering in Christ's name have the responsibility of enlisting the service of the church to care for those in need.

The shadow of the Old Covenant has become the reality in the fulfillment of Christ's compassion and the calling of the Great Commission. Jesus transforms the Sabbath to make the whole world see the fruit of the gospel in the company of believers. The world must see in the life of the church the compassion of Jesus Christ in social ministry and evangelism. We sometimes forget the impact that Christian service has made in the midst of the agonies of this world. As the world watches us fulfill God's commandment to keep the Sabbath day holy, they will see the resurrection power of Christ and get a taste of the rest into which God is calling his own.

Clowney on how the work of the kingdom is rest

From pages 61-62 of: How Jesus Transforms The Ten Commandments

Christ brings spiritual rest. He calls to the weary and burdened to come to him for rest. Yet even in that invitation, Jesus showed the heavenly nature of his rest. The Lord's Day doesn't yet offer us the satisfaction and joy we will know in our final rest. Jesus promised rest to those who took his yoke. How can a yoke bring rest to the burdened? Christ's yoke is an image of his lordship. We labor under his authority and in his power. Because we are laboring for him and by his strength, we have his peace even though we have not reached our final rest. Jesus blessed his disciples with the peace that he alone can give. Jesus gives peace with God, and peace in living for him, not for ourselves. We may cast all our cares upon him, for he cares for us. This peace might seem illusory, however, were it not for the promise of final rest.

The author of Hebrews describes the future rest that awaits the people of God: the perfect rest of God that has no ending. That hope of heaven awaits us. It is the place where we will enter into the rest of God the Creator: a rest in which perfect love will cast out all our fears; a resting place prepared ahead of us by our older brother, who will wipe away every tear; and a resting place where there will be no more sin or suffering or pain or separation or loneliness.

In Christ, we taste already the rest and peace found in his presence. To go and be with Christ is far better, but through the Spirit we already know the gift of Christ's rest. God, who rested from his work of creation, still works in providence and redemption. Jesus, the Son of God, has entered his rest, but he now carries forward his saving work until the final heavenly rest is ushered in.

Clowney on Paul's call to unity on differing views of the Sabbath

I often ponder about how Sundays are sometimes the busiest day of the week, when a day back with services and church activity is the perfect recipe for a tired believer (rather than a rested one). This is probably one of the most compelling reasons that has spurred a special interest in me to study whether we are bound to a Sabbath in today's modern context. Various Christian circles would inevitably have differing views on this... And in the dissimilarities, we are reminded to be united as one body in Christ who has fulfilled the commandment!

I guess I relate a little with the "man who wishes that he could be with God's people every day of the week," albeit for a differ reason. It is probably more "carnal" than "holy", more socio-emotional rather than theological. As an extreme extrovert, I long for a Christian community like that of Acts 2. When we gather together more often than the weekly Sunday service, because we want to rather than have to, what I envision is a rested loving covenant community: Modelling a surrendered will to the Holy Spirit, continually studying and applying Scripture; a deep love for Christ is exhibited in their encouragment and sharpening of fellow family members (1 Thess. 5:11; Prov. 27:17).


From pages 60-61 of: How Jesus Transforms The Ten Commandments


Paul had to deal with the question of Sabbath observance in churches with Jewish and Gentile believers. He instructed them not to judge one another on the matter of Sabbath observance. The Old Testament observances of feast days, New Moon celebrations, and the Sabbath day were all shadows of things to come in Christ. "The reality, however, is found in Christ" (Col. 2:17). Paul counsels those who understand this reality to show love and understanding to those who are weaker in the faith, and have not yet realized the change that Christ has brought (Rom. 13:8). "One man, " writes Paul, "considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord" (Rom. 14:5-6a).

Yet we must not assume that the man "who considers every day alike" will show no interest in attending the gathering of the saints on the first day of the week. That man has reached a level of maturity at which he realizes that the service of Christ must be carried on just as intensively on Wednesday and Friday as on Sunday. He is the man who wishes that he could be with God's people every day of the week! The early church did meet together regularly on the first day of the week, and Paul elsewhere admonishes believers not to neglect these worship assemblies. The apostolic church met for worship on the Lord's Day, the day of Jesus' resurrection (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2), and we learn from the book of Revelation that John was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day (Rev. 1:10). In this sense the Sabbath rest is still celebrated: on the Lord's Day we find rest and refreshment in Christ and the richness of the eternal rest in which the Son of God is one with his people in the heavenly rest of his glory.

Clowney on what the law of the Sabbath pointed to

From pages 55-57 of: How Jesus Transforms The Ten Commandments

A SIGN OF REDEMPTION
God's creation rest and the Sabbath that marks it point to another rest—the rest of redemption. The Sabbath is the ordinance that expresses God's covenant with his people. It is a sign not only of creation, but of redemption. The Israelites keep the Sabbath as a memorial of their redemption from slavery in Egypt and of their being brought to rest in the land God promised them. The Sabbath looks forward to a complete and final rest in perfect communion with God. By marking out that day, God's children are reminded that they belong to God as physical creatures and depend on him for their very breath. They are also reminded that their purpose is not the labor itself so much as it is their communion with the God who made them.

A PEOPLE SET IN PLACE AND TIME
The Sabbath serves yet another purpose for Israel. It marks God's claim on the Israelites as his own people. They are a Sabbath-keeping nation. Their regular observance of their weekly holy day marked them out as belonging to God, in distinction from the pagan nations that surrounded them. This claim on them will one day be extended as God lays claim to many other people and nations. In this sense. the Sabbath is a sign not only for Israel, but also for the other nations whom God will incorporate in his rest. Isaiah tells of a day when God will say, "Blessed be my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance" (Isa. 19:25). The beginning of the accomplishment of this promise is God's faithfulness in rescuing his people and in showing his grace and his power to bring them into God's Sabbath rest.

In the land God gave them, there was to be a holy place, the temple, where God would set his name, but there was also a holy time. We are perhaps more familiar with the idea that God set apart a particular place where his people would come to worship him when they came to the Promised Land. The temple pictured God's dwelling among his people as the holy place of his presence. God dwells in Zion. We are less familiar with the idea of a holy time. The pattern of seven was applied to the holy times of God's law. The seventh day is joined with the seventh (sabbatical) year, since the land was to lie fallow on the seventh year. After seven sevens of years came the year of Jubilee, the fiftieth year, which was the climax of the sabbatical system. As we examine Christ's fulfillment of the commandment to keep the Sabbath holy, we will see that he accomplished all the times of the Sabbath, the Sabbath year, and the final Jubilee freeing all those enslaved by sin.

We see how rich the Sabbath principle is. It provided the people physical rest, which was a reminder of their created nature. It provided them with a reminder that God's presence offers them true rest. It reminded them of their redemption from slavery, and it held out a hope for them of a permanent rest to come, in the Promised Land. As the writer of Hebrews points out, however, "there remains . . . a Sabbath rest for the people of God" (Heb. 4:9). As history moves on, it becomes obvious that the physical land of Israel is not the final rest.

THE SIGN OF A GREATER REST
There is a deep spiritual meaning to the Sabbath. True rest can be found only in the presence of God. In the Old Testament, God leads his people from captivity through the desert to the land of rest. In that land, the people meet with him in his temple and find peace and protection in his presence. Even this rest remains a symbol of the final rest that comes with Jesus Christ. The Sabbath, then, not only looks back to God's rest after he had completed his work of creation (Gen. 2:2-3) but also looks forward to the final peace given through Jesus Christ.

Clowney on Jesus transforming the second commandment

I have never seen this passage quite this way before. Jesus asks us, who do we belong to and whose image we bear. If it is God's, then the only appropriate response would be to give him our lives.


From pages 27 of: How Jesus Transforms The Ten Commandments

A true understanding of the second commandment must come as we look at Jesus, who transformed it. Jesus shows us the richness and depth of this commandment when he answers the hypocrites who ask him, "Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" In response, Jesus asks to be shown a denarius, a coin used in paying Roman taxes. "Whose portrait is this?" he asks his opponents. "And whose inscription?" They were forced to reply, "Caesar's." As he always did in his responses to their provocation, Jesus avoids the trap and forces them to deal with the true meaning of God's law: "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's" is his stunning answer (Matt. 22:17-21).

In recognizing the authority of Rome, Jesus makes an enormous transition from Old Testament theocracy to a new notion of kingdom. But he goes much further in this simple
statement about a Roman coin. It becomes obvious that he is teaching us to give back to God what bears his image, just as people had to give back to Caesar the coins that bore his image. If Caesar gets a coin, what does God get? We give God back his image by giving him ourselves.

Clowney on God's two mountaintop revelations to mankind

Yahweh issued ten commandments in a terrifying revelation of himself on Mount Sinai, many years later on another mountain, he gives us only one commandment - to listen to his beloved son!


From pages 11-12 of: How Jesus Transforms The Ten Commandments

We have biblical background for the phrase "mountaintop experience." The Bible often speaks of mountains, and God marks his glorious presence by drawing his people's eyes upward to the mountains. Two mountaintop experiences frame God's revelation of himself to his people. The thunder and lightning of the Old Testament experience at Mount Sinai have been depicted in many a piece of art and in many a film. God's terrifying presence, the threat of death, the fearful quaking of the people—all these are physical signs of the importance of what happened on the mountain in the Sinai peninsula. God spoke, and declared his law to his people, revealing his person, his presence, and his commands.

Many years later on another mountain, in an incident recorded in the New Testament, God spoke again. The terrible, glorious, frightening, exhilarating cloud of the glory of God's presence once again overshadowed those on the mountain. Three disciples stood transfixed as they saw Moses, the scribe of the law, and Elijah, the representative of the prophets, speaking with Jesus. Moses, who had not been allowed to enter the Promised Land, found himself once again on the mountain with God. But this time, he was allowed to see the fulfillments of all that he had first on Mount Sinai. Instead often commandments, written on tablets of stone, and shattered at the foot of the mountain because of the people's sin, God uttered only one commandment—the true summary of the Law and the Prophets: "This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!" (Mark 9:7).

Jesus reveals the I AM God in the fullest possible way. The law is only a pale reflection in comparison. The Ten Commandments, God's first specific, verbal revelation of his nature to his people, help us to understand him and to understand Son, who is the fulfilment of that law.